Chapter 42
“Hazard!”
Hazard turned at the sound of his name being called. The major stood at the edge of the training yard, holding a manila folder in hand. She beckoned him over with it. He’d been running one of the tactical obstacle courses with Ice supervising, but it looked like he might be done for the day.
“Sorry, Captain. You’ll have to make me do that bitch of a confidence climb another day.” He winked at Ice before he jogged over to join Ortiz.
“What’s up, Major?”
“Your services have been requested,” she said.
“Solo mission?” He hadn’t had one of those since he joined the 448. “What’s the op?”
“Not exactly an op. More like a photo op.”
Hazard frowned in confusion. “Come again?”
“You’re being sent to speak at a motivational retreat for omegas.”
“They’re pulling me off base to go and give a pep talk?” he asked incredulously. “Don’t we have recruiters for that?”
“Of course we do.” Ortiz agreed with a nod. “But they specifically need an elite soldier who also happens to be an omega to come out and speak to these young shifters. You know the traditionalist groups are starting to spread their keep omegas in home and in the kitchen rhetoric.”
“Yeah.”
“The shifter council has been alerted to their movement. To combat it, the council is starting a campaign to show that omegas have value in every aspect of society, not just the home.”
“I still don’t get why they picked me. I’m happy to do it, but I’m not the only omega on a special task force.”
“Councilor Doucette requested you for this, which means she thinks highly of you and your skills. That’s no surprise since you were on the team that rescued her daughter.”
Hazard stood a little straighter. He appreciated hearing that someone he’d helped thought of him to kick off what could become an important project. “I’ll do it. Anything to give encouragement to omegas. I hate that omegas need to be sheltered and protected bullshit. That protection is nothing but a prison they want to shove us in.”
“Good. You ship out at thirteen-hundred hours. Prepare a speech and take your dress uniform.”
“Will do. A little shiny shiny on the chest and shoulders ought to impress them.”
Ortiz smiled and lightly slapped him on the arm with the folder before she passed it over to him. “You’ll impress them all on your own, Corporal Mitchell.”
Ortiz strolled off, leaving Hazard standing there feeling even more proud of himself. He truly did love working under Ortiz. She knew how to make her squadmates feel valued. At the sound of footsteps behind him, he turned back around to see Ice walking over to him.
“What was that about?” he asked.
“I’ve been asked to go and speak to wolf pups as a shining example of what omegas can be in this world.”
“That’s good. When are we going?”
“We aren’t going. I’m being sent out on my own.”
Ice didn’t say anything. But he shifted his stance slightly.
Hazard tilted his head to the side in question. Something about Ice’s change in body language let him know his lover wasn’t thrilled about that announcement. “You don’t want me going without you.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You don’t have to. I can see you pouting even though your face is covered.”
Ice let out a low, annoyed growl that made Hazard laugh.
“Grumpy kitten,” he teased, keeping his voice low so that no one would hear him.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be that way.”
“What way?”
“Jealous and possessive.”
“Why not?” Hazard moved in close, until the lack of space between them was just shy of inappropriate. “Maybe I want you to be jealous over me,” he said in a husky whisper. “In fact, maybe I want to make you jealous. Have you watch me flirt with other alphas.” He paused to give a friendly wave to a trio of soldiers passing by, smiling as if he wasn’t deliberately riling up the feared Captain Ice Anderson just out of their ear shot. “Maybe I’ll even let a random alpha get their scent on me.”
“Dylan...”
“Yes, Royce?” he asked when Royce trailed off without finishing.
“If I ever smell another alpha on you, that alpha won’t be long for this world.”
Hazard opened his eyes wide, as if he were well and truly shocked. “Are you saying you would kill some poor, hapless shifter for putting their hands on me?”
“Yes,” Ice said bluntly.
After a moment, Hazard laughed. But Royce’s expressive eyes didn’t change from their deadly serious intensity which made him laugh all the harder. “Never change, Ice. I like you violent, possessive, and just a tiny bit crazy.”
They headed toward their barracks, arms bumping together as they walked. When they reached the door, Hazard opened it and held it open for Ice. But the alpha didn’t go inside. He stopped before the threshold and looked down at Hazard.
“When it comes to you, Dylan, I’m more than just a little bit crazy.”
* * *
That evening after dinner, Ice made his way outside. He climbed up to the roof of the main armory, resting his elbows on the guardrail to stare out over the base. The waxing gibbous moon hung overhead, making him wonder about the wolf sign for this month. He’d have to ask Hazard when he returned.
Hazard had departed for his solo assignment two hours ago. This would be their first night not being in the same place at the same time since Hazard had joined the team. Hazard had only been a member of the 448 for about four months, but he’d slotted himself into Ice’s life so completely, it seemed as if he’d been there for much longer than that.
After about ten minutes of having the rooftop to himself, someone approached behind him. Ice didn’t bother to turn around to see who it was, recognizing the major’s footsteps. Ortiz came over and leaned against the railing next to him. The two of them stood there silently for a few minutes, as they had so many times before. Ice appreciated that about her, that she could exist without the need to talk or move.
“I like that you and Hazard are together,” she said eventually, breaking the silence.
“Aren’t you supposed to be hauling us into your office and reprimanding us for fraternization?”
“According to the rule book I should. But I value a smoothly functioning team more than I do following each and every regulation.” She turned to the side to face him as she spoke. “You two are better when you’re together. You work well together training the privates and your team work out in the field is so good it’s like fucking magic. The vibes created by you two make our team as a whole better. Whatever you have with Hazard, I’d try damn hard to hold on to it.”
“Giving love advice, Major?”
She snorted a laugh. “Perish the thought. Just saying, I think it was the right decision to stop fighting against your Instinct. You’ve benefited from your closeness with Hazard and he’s benefited from being close to you too. A match made in the hell of battles and death.”
“It was Hazard’s idea for us to stop fighting our attraction to each other. Looks like he was right.”
“Knowing the both of you, that’s not a surprise. I also think he’s right about granting more shifter allowances. It’s why I wanted us all living together on this squad, to help build the bonds of a pack.”
“You knew his stance on pack and shifter allowances when you brought him on the team.”
Ortiz nodded. “I did. It’s one of the reasons I chose him. I hope that if we show the brass how well we do as an all-shifter team, that they’ll see working as a pack and embracing our true natures can in fact be beneficial for shifter soldiers and the Legion. There are other squads and officers out there working toward the same goal.”
“Why’d you pick me to be on the team? You know I’m not one for pack.”
“Yeah, you are a loner, aren’t you? Two reasons. I thought that it would be good for you to have that sense of pack. It’s not good for wolves to go completely lone wolf and I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen to you.”
That surprised him. He hadn’t realized that he was that close to lone wolf status or that Ortiz cared enough to do something to stop it from happening.
“Second, if the big, bad Captain Ice Anderson can still do his job as effectively if not better when put with a pack, that’s a testament to allow shifters to be fucking shifters in this damn military.”
“You used me as a guinea pig.” There was no accusation or anger, simply statement of fact.
Ortiz met his gaze directly.
“I did. I would have let you transfer out if this squad didn’t work for you. But I have to be honest, I think you’ve thrived in the 448.”
Maybe he had. He certainly felt a sense of belonging for the first time in years. And Hazard. He wouldn’t have met Hazard if he hadn’t joined this squad.
“Plus, you got to meet Hazard,” Ortiz said, as if she’d plucked the thought right out of Ice’s head. “And I’d say that’s working out for you pretty well.”
“Did you come up here to tease me about my relationship with Hazard?”
With an amused laugh, Ortiz pushed back from the rail. “No. I came to tell you that we’ve been assigned a retrieval mission. The head of a big time drug cartel is in the country. We’re being sent to scoop him up.”
“Who ordered the mission?” Ice asked.
“That’s classified.”
“Too classified for you to know?”
“Apparently.”
Ice could tell by her tone that she didn’t like that. He didn’t either, but it wouldn’t be the first time they’d been sent out on a mission that was more dark than not.
“Sergeant Marshal from Echo Squad is going to join us to fill in for Hazard. We leave at first light.”
Ice nodded. “I’ll be ready.”